Fawzia Koofi: Afghan Negotiator and Campaigner Shot by Gunmen
New Age Islam News Bureau
16
Aug 2020
• Fawzia Koofi: Afghan Negotiator and Campaigner Shot by Gunmen
• Pakistan
Women Entrepreneurs Complete Training On Exporting Their Products
• Masjid
al-Haram in Mecca and Al Masjid an Nabawi in Medina Appointed 10 Women To
Senior Leadership Positions In The Authority
• Heeding
Mom, Tennessee Lawmaker Helped Women Gain The Vote
• Army
Organizes Arms Training Camp for Women In J-K
Compiled By New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/fawzia-koofi-afghan-negotiator-campaigner/d/122641
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Fawzia Koofi: Afghan Negotiator And Campaigner Shot By Gunmen
16-08-2020
AFP/GETTY
IMAGES
Fawzia
Koofi is one of the few Afghan women to have attended talks with the Taliban
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An
attack on one of the only women taking part in negotiations with the Taliban
was a "cowardly and criminal" attempt to disrupt the Afghan peace
process, the US envoy has said.
Zalmay
Khalilzad said he was "relieved" that Fawzia Koofi had escaped
Friday's shooting "without serious injury".
Ms
Koofi was shot in the right arm while travelling with her sister.
The
Taliban have denied they were behind the attack, which came as the two sides
prepared for talks.
The
militant group has previously refused to negotiate directly with the Afghan
government, but agreed to take part in the talks aiming to end almost two
decades of conflict after reaching an agreement with the US in February.
As
part of the agreement, the Afghan government had to release 5,000 Taliban
prisoners. On Thursday, it began releasing the last 400 militants. Talks are
expected to start in Qatar after the final prisoner is released.
Fawzia
Koofi: The woman who negotiated with the Taliban
'We
can't go back': The Afghan women determined not to lose
But
there are concerns the attack on Ms Koofi, an outspoken critic of the Taliban
who was returning from a meeting in the northern Parwan province when she was
attacked near the capital Kabul, could undermine the process.
"Worrying
pattern of targeted attacks that can negatively impact confidence in peace
process," the chief of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission,
Shaharzad Akbar, wrote on Twitter.
Mr
Khalizad also took to Twitter, saying he wanted "all sides who seek peace
to not only condemn the attack but to accelerate the peace process and start
intra-Afghan negotiations ASAP".
Media
captionIs peace with the Taliban possible?
The
attack, which no one has claimed, was also condemned as "cowardly" by
President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Council for
National Reconciliation.
Ms
Koofi is one of the few women to have taken part in dialogue with the hard-line
Islamist group, which ruled Afghanistan until they were removed from power in
Afghanistan by a US-led invasion in 2001.
They
have fought to regain territory since. Last year alone, more than 3,000
civilians were killed in the conflict, according to United Nations figures.
However,
the deal reached with the US has proved controversial. On Saturday, France
objected to the release of some of the remaining 400 prisoners held by the
Afghan authorities - some of whom it says were involved in the killings of
French nationals.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53795870
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Pakistan
Women Entrepreneurs Complete Training On Exporting Their Products
Afshan
S. Khan
August
16, 2020
More
than 100 Pakistani women recently completed a virtual training on how to export
their products
-----
Islamabad:
More than 100 Pakistani women recently completed a virtual training on how to
export their products and explore new international markets as part of a
collaborative program conducted by the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) and several Pakistan Women Chambers of Commerce and
Industry.
Under
this first phase of the programme, 115 women from various business and industry
sectors completed five online training sessions on “Export Processes and
Documentation.” Participants increased their understanding of formal export
procedures, the role of key stakeholders, export documentation, and
international standards. In the second phase, businesses exhibiting strong
export potential will receive logistics support to participate in international
trade exhibitions, technical assistance to improve export potential and
international market access, and mentoring from industry experts. “Owning your
own business is a brave and noble endeavor, and for a woman, it can be even
more challenging, especially during this devastating pandemic,” stated
USAID/Pakistan Mission Director Julie Koenen.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/701192-women-entrepreneurs-complete-training-on-exporting-their-products
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Masjid
al-Haram in Mecca and Al Masjid an Nabawi in Medina Appointed 10 Women To
Senior Leadership Positions In The Authority
Aug
16,2020
This
picture taken on July 24, 2020 ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage season in
Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca shows a view of the Kaaba, Islam's holiest
shrine, at the centre of the Grand Mosque complex. (AFP)
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The
General Presidency for the affairs of the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram in
Mecca) and the Prophet's Mosque (Al Masjid an Nabawi in Medina) appointed 10
women to senior leadership positions in the authority, reports local media in
Saudi Arabia.
Announcing
the appointments, the presidency said that ‘empowering women to assume
leadership positions is an important subject that will reflect on development
and the economy.’
The
appointees ‘will support the process of creativity and achieving the principles
of quality and the highest standards of excellence in order to achieve the
generous aspirations of the wise leadership,’ according to Saudi Press Agency.
Arab
News reports these appointments cover all specialisations and services provided
in the Two Holy Mosques, whether guidance, directive, engineering,
administrative or supervisory services.
‘They
are also included in the departments of the King Abdul Aziz Complex for Holy
Kaaba Kiswa (cover), the Two Holy Mosques Building Gallery, the Holy Mosque
Library, and other areas with the aim of empowering youth and investing their
energies and capabilities in the service of the pilgrims,’ Arab News quoted
Kamelia Al-Daadi, assistant undersecretary for service and administrative
affairs at the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques
https://www.newagebd.net/article/113631/10-women-get-senior-positions-in-muslims-two-holy-mosques
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Heeding
mom, Tennessee lawmaker helped women gain the vote
AUGUST
15, 2020
One
hundred years ago this month, women in the United States were guaranteed the
right to vote with ratification of the 19th Amendment secured by a 24-year-old
Tennessee legislator’s decisive vote, cast at the bidding of his mother.
Harry
T. Burn’s surprise move set the stage for decades of slow but steady advances
for American women in electoral politics. Two years ago, a record number of
women were elected to Congress. On Tuesday, Democratic former Vice President
Joe Biden selected Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate making her the first
Black woman on a major partys presidential ticket.
Burns,
from the small town of Niota in eastern Tennessee, joined the Legislature in
1918 as its youngest member. The following year, Congress approved the 19th
Amendment, touching off the battle to win ratification by the legislatures of
36 of the 48 states.
The
process moved quickly at first: By March 1920, 35 states had ratified, while
eight states, mostly Southern, had rejected the amendment. Of the states yet to
vote, Tennessee was the only one where ratification was considered possible
under prevailing political conditions.
So
all eyes turned to its Legislature, where lawmakers had the power to grant the
womens suffrage movement a victory it had sought for more than 70 years or deal
it a painful setback.
At
that time, women in more than half the states could vote in presidential
elections. But they had no statewide voting rights throughout the South and
several other states.
Thousands
of activists on both sides of the debate poured into Nashville ahead of the
special session. The posh Hermitage Hotel became a hotbed of lobbying and
political gossip.
The
amendment was approved 25-4 in the state Senate and sent to the House, where
sentiment was divided as its turn to vote came on Aug. 18, 1920.
Anti-suffragists
believed they had the votes needed to table the amendment, but that failed in a
48-48 tie. Burn was among those supporting the motion to table.
Next
came the decisive vote on whether to ratify. Onlookers expected another tie,
which would have doomed the measure.
But
when Burns turn came, he switched sides. His aye was so unexpected that many
onlookers were unsure what theyd heard, according to various historical
accounts. The amendment passed 49-47.
Some
wondered if Burn had been bribed. But the next day, addressing the House, he
offered an explanation.
He
had received a letter from his mother, urging him to buck the anti-suffragist
sentiments of many of his constituents and instead support the amendment.
Dear
Son, Hurrah and vote for suffrage! she wrote. Dont forget to be a good boy and
help Mrs. Catt put the rat in ratification. Your Mother.
That
was a reference to Carrie Chapman Catt, a leading suffragist who had come to
Nashville to campaign for the amendment.
Burn
told the House: I believe in full suffrage as a right. He added: I know that a
mothers advice is always safest for her boy to follow, and my mother wanted me
to vote for ratification.
It
took decades after 1920 to reach some significant milestones. For example, no
woman was elected a state governor in her own right as opposed to succeeding
her husband until Ella Grasso in Connecticut in 1975. Even now, women hold only
nine of the 50 governorships and about one-fourth of the seats in Congress.
Yet
womens commitment to voting has deepened over the decades. According to the
Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, American men had
higher turnout rates than women in presidential elections until 1980, while
womens turnout rate has been higher ever since. In the 2016 election, according
to the center, votes were cast by 73.7 million women and 63.8 million men.
The
womens suffrage movement in the United States is widely considered to have been
launched at the Seneca Falls convention in New York state in 1848. At the time,
many Southerners were wary of the movement because key leaders also were
engaged in anti-slavery campaigning.
By
the 1910s, many Southerners were viewing the proposed 19th Amendment through a
racial prism, said Marjorie Spruill, an emeritus professor of history at the
University of South Carolina.
The
attitude was, If you ratify the 19th Amendment, youre not a good son of the
South,’ Spruill said. ‘These white radical women from outside are going to
insist that Black women get the vote.’
That
opposition continued right through ratification. A few states on the periphery
of the former Confederacy Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas had preceded
Tennessee in passing the amendment. But in the core of the South, opposition
was solid.
Even
after ratification, Black women, along with Black men, were frequently
disenfranchised in Tennessee and other Southern states by Jim Crow laws with
requirements for voters such as paying a poll tax, owning property and passing
a literacy test.
Black
women had to continue their fight to secure voting privileges, for both men and
women. … The 19th Amendment was a starting point, wrote Sharon Harley, a
professor of African American Studies at the University of Maryland.
For
white women as well, ratification did not lead swiftly to political equality.
Tennessee, for example, has never elected a woman as governor, and Marsha
Blackburn became its first female U.S. senator just two years ago.
Wanda
Sobieski, a lawyer who led campaigns to erect suffrage memorials in her
hometown of Knoxville, said women are now well represented as judges in
Tennessee, including holding three of the five seats on the state Supreme
Court.
But
she says its been difficult for women to raise the funds needed to win
statewide elections.
Spruill
said theres a similar pattern across the South, where only a few states have
elected a woman as governor and most have opposed recent efforts to resurrect
the long-derailed Equal Rights Amendment.
Mississippi,
Tennessees neighbor to the South, was the last state to ratify the 19th
Amendment, waiting 64 years before taking that step in 1984.
https://www.news18.com/news/world/heeding-mom-tennessee-lawmaker-helped-women-gain-the-vote-2791025.html
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Army
Organizes Arms Training Camp For Women In J-K
16
August, 2020
Reasi
(Jammu and Kashmir) [India], Aug 16 (ANI): The Indian Army has started an
orientation and familiarisation programme for women who have expressed their
desires to join security forces in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. These
women are being trained in academics, physical fitness, and handling of
weapons.
The
training programme aims at empowering women of south of Pir Panjal Ranges at
Mahore Subdivision of Reasi District.
With
this, young women of the area have realised their true potential and want to
contribute to nation-building.
The
Indian Army is also running various Women Empowerment Nodes (WEN) to enable,
educate and empower women for employment and various other jobs, both civil and
government. One such activity is training of the women for enrollment into the
Indian Army, Police and BSF.
Speaking
to ANI, Mamtaz Kouser from Gulab Garh said, "This is very good initiative
and we are very thankful to Indian Army which is educating us. Earlier we were
not allowed to go out but due to Indian Army our parents are supporting us and
we are progressing."
During
this training, which is being conducted with full COVID-19 protocols in effect,
the girls are made aware of terms and conditions of service.
"We
are being trained in handling weapons and are being given physical training.
Girls are coming from far flung areas to take this training. Inspired by the soldiers
in the valley, our parents are sending us here to the training centres,"
Gulnaz Akhter told ANI.
A
female J-K Police constable said that girls are learning to handle weapons for
the first time and they are being imparted every tiny knowledge about the
academics and weapons.
"Kashmiri
girls are taking training in handling weapons for the first and are being
imparted every knowledge about the academics and weapons. I would like to thank
our Indian Army for training our girls in this way. They are being provided
every facilities and they are also being informed about the vacancy and
procedure of filling the form for the same," J-K Police constable told
ANI.
http://www.businessworld.in/article/Army-organizes-arms-training-camp-for-women-in-J-K/16-08-2020-309197/
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/fawzia-koofi-afghan-negotiator-campaigner/d/122641